In one village there lived a miller, an honest and just man. He never took anything that belonged to others and was ready to share the last handful of flour with those in need.
One day he was clearing a mill ditch and saw a large ripe apple that was carrying water. I wanted to eat it, but I thought: “I didn’t grow this apple and therefore I have no right to eat it.” But the beauty of the apple struck him, and he decided to find out where it came from.
The miller walked along the ditch to the river and after a while he met an old man with a snow-white beard.
- Salaam alaikum, oh old man! Are these beautiful apples growing in your garden?
“No, good man, they grow higher up the river in my older brother’s garden.”
The miller went further and met an elderly man who had a lot of gray hair in his beard.
- Salaam alaikum, elder. Aren't you the elder brother of that venerable old man who lives down the river? And aren’t these apples growing in your garden?
“This man is really my younger brother.” And these apples grow in the garden of our third, oldest brother, who lives even further up the river.
After some time, the miller met a youthful man without a single gray hair.
- Salaam alaikum, good man. Are these apples from your garden? And aren’t you the elder brother of the old people living below?
- Vaaleikum assalam! I am the eldest of the brothers, and I grew these apples. But come, traveler, into the house, be a guest.
The miller accepted the invitation.
“Wife, give us something to eat, and don’t forget to choose the ripest watermelon,” said the elder brother, entering the house.
When they had eaten, the wife brought a watermelon. The owner cut it and said:
- This is an unripe watermelon, bring it better!
Five times the husband sent his wife for a new watermelon, and he only liked the last one.
The miller thanked the owners and asked:
- Oh hospitable host. Let me ask you one question. How could it be that you, the eldest of the brothers, look so young?
“You saw how I sent my wife for watermelon five times.” Neither I nor she were at all irritated. Know that my wife and I live in excellent peace and harmony, and nothing has darkened our lives so far. My younger brothers, alas, could not achieve this.
This is how the miller learned the secret of youth and from then on began to live with his wife in peace and harmony. They say that even after a hundred years he had almost no gray hair.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru